Are Breast-aurants in Yakima’s Future?

I was reading a story by an Associated Press food writer the other day, and if you thought bikini baristas got Yakima up in arms, what would happen if one of these places opened here?

They have names like Hooters, Twin Peaks, and the Tilted Kilt. What they all have in common is waitresses in revealing uniforms.

The waitresses at Twin Peaks wear skimpy plaid tops that accentuate their chests. In case you didn’t catch the joke, the chain’s logo is an image of two pointy, snow-capped mountains. And the sports bar doesn’t stop there: It promises “scenic views.”

Twin Peaks owner Randy DeWitt says “We believe in feeding the ego before feeding the stomach.” Or as the website of the mountain lodge-themed restaurant states, “Twin Peaks is about you, `cause you’re the man!”

Twin Peaks is part of a booming niche in the beleaguered restaurant industry known as “breastaurants,” or sports bars that feature scantily clad waitresses. These small chains operate in the tradition of Hooters, which pioneered the concept in the 1980s but has struggled in recent years to stay fresh.

Hooters has maintained it’s signature orange shorts and white tank tops, but has worked to make it’s menu fresh with new items.

The heads of these restaurant chains all say it’s more about the food than the personnel, but the CEO of the Tilted Kilt, Rod Lynch says “We hire only spectacular talent. They have to fit into that costume.”

After the furor over “sexpresso” stands in Yakima, do you think one of these types of places would fly here?